digital distractions

How to enable digital workspace technologies campus-wide


Western Carolina University extends digital workspace technologies campus-wide—here’s how for better student learning and IT relief.

Tucked away in Cullowhee, North Carolina, near the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains, Western Carolina University (WCU) is the westernmost institute in the University of North Carolina system. With more than 10,800 students, WCU provides more than 120 undergraduate majors and concentrations and more than 35 graduate programs.

WCU was the first campus in the University of North Carolina system to require its students to bring a computer with them to school. For some time, students have been utilizing a variety of devices: from desktop and laptop computers to tablets and smartphones. The university needed a way to provide students access to applications and data no matter what kind of device they have or whether they’re located on or off campus.

Tasked with providing a consistent, secure computing environment across the entire university population, WCU turned to VMware and its digital workspace solutions. Today, every student and faculty member has access to a virtual desktop, allowing them to work whenever and wherever is most convenient, from any device.

Good for Distance Ed

The vast majority of university-provided applications are available in one place through a common portal, requiring only one login to access apps such as Microsoft 365 or specialized programs for academics. Access to apps and data is just as seamless off campus as it is on campus.

As such, WCU has been able to level the playing field between on-campus and distance education students.

Virtual desktops are customized for individual students based on their majors or what classes they are taking, and virtualization has made the software deployment process much faster and easier.

WCU’s digital workspace solution creates a customized user experience with features like dynamic personalization management. The feature adds additional network drives and printers based on a student’s customized user group and environmental settings, such as location.

(Next page: Digital workspace provides relief for IT; next-gen tech)

Sigh of Relief for IT

Before deploying its digital workspace solution, the WCU IT team would commit five to eight people working ten hours a day for two weeks to get classroom computers ready for a new year.

If a faculty member forgot to request a piece of software on lab computers, the IT team would have to re-image the entire classroom, which could take a week or more pending room availability.

Today, new apps can be assigned to a virtual desktop upon request in a matter of minutes for an entire class. When a student completes the class or withdraws, they no longer have access to that application through automated processes. This means that the WCU IT department only has to spend money on licenses for apps that are actually in use.

Tight Security

Enterprise-level security at many levels protects university data. Students in medical fields and employees of the university health service use non-persistent desktops to protect sensitive data such as patient information. Each iteration of a non-persistent desktop is discarded when a user logs out, so their information is kept secure in the data center instead of on the endpoint. Additional security features such as multifactor authentication are also utilized for secure virtual desktop applications.

Next-Gen Tech

WCU is also using products from VMware partner NVIDIA for both academic and personal computing.

In a pilot program from the College of Engineering, the IT team added NVIDIA GRID cards to a handful of servers. These cards bring the power of the NVIDIA graphics-processing unit (GPU) to students’ virtual desktops, speeding graphics performance and rendering for applications such as 3D modeling and computer-aided design.

Engineering students are thrilled with the results as they can run these sophisticated design programs right from their laptops; they are no longer required to be in a classroom just to access a physical machine.

Digital workspace technologies are enhancing the university’s mission of education for all. By breaking down barriers and making resources more accessible, WCU’s IT department is helping create a greater academic experience for faculty, distance education students and on-campus students alike.

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter: Innovations in K12 Education
By submitting your information, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

eSchool Media Contributors

Oops! We could not locate your form.

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter: Innovations in K12 Education
By submitting your information, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.